Playing-cards.



J. F. HARDY.

PLAYING CARDS.

APPLICATION rum) SEPT. 10, 1906.

1,034,402. r Patgnted July 30, 1912.

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JOHN F. HARDY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PLAYING-CARDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1912.

Application filed. September 10, 1906. Serial No. 333,897.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN F. HARDY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Playing-Cards, of

plify the possible variations in play; and involve novel means of group or rank distinction to facilitate the ready grouping and playing of the cards.

Other and further objects of my invention will best become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 shows the playing faces of a series of cards constituting a group or suit. Fig. 2 indicates the playing face of a card of another suit or group. Fig. 3 indicates the playing faces of a third group. Fig. A indicates a fragment of a twin-sequence suit. Fig. 5 indicates a fragment of a suit with a modified reverse sequence arrangement. Fig. 6 indicates cards stacked for separation. Fig. 7 shows the adaptation of my idea to ordinary playing cards.

Generally speaking my improved playing card pack provides a plurality of groups or suits of cards, each group or suit containing a plurality of cards the cards of any group or suit bearing the suit characteristics or means for indication of its suit or group. Such 'suit characteristic is preferably afforded by means of a distinctive design or color, covering, as shown in Fig. 2, all of the border-portion of the playing-face of the card contiguous to the edge thereof, and preferably as shown in Fig. 1, covering the entire playing face of the card, such color or design being readily distinguishable from the color or design indicative of every other group or suit, and markedly distinctive from the color or design of the back or reverse faces of the cards, the backs or reverse faces of all of the cards of the entire pack being in design exact counterparts, as usual in playing cards. This means of suit or group designation I have found to be most advantageous, as the exposure of. the least fraction of the playing face of a card enables, the observer to determine the group or suit characteristic of the card.

One of the features of my invention is the provision in a card deck wherein the opposite ends or edges of each card are readily distinguishable, of double value indications associated with the distinguishable opposite ends or edges of the cards. Thus on like ends of a series of cards are sequential value, or rank, indications, and on the opposite ends or edges of the same series of cards are displayed value indications, in another sequence, preferably exactly the reverse of the first. As illustrated in the drawing this idea may be carried into effect in various ways. All of the cards of a suit may be involved in a reverse sequence arrangement, as illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein like ends of the cards of a suit are provided with indications of sequential value from 1 to at, while upon the opposite, distinguishable ends of the same cards are provided, in reverse sequence, value indications from A to 1. As shown in Fig. 4, this double sequence may be duplicated in a single suit, in which case there are two cards in each suit having each given combinations of numbers, and in such a deck I provide suitable means for inclicating that one of the duplicate series of cards constituting the suit, shall arbitrarily have ranking value or trick-taking value above the other, by suitably distinguishing the cards of the suit as to rank, the preferred means which I employ being the utilization of a darker shade of the suit-denominating color, upon the cards of the superior rank as against a lighter shade upon the cards of inferior rank. This is illustrated in Fig. 4.

Another variation of the same idea of reverse sequence arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein all of the cards of a suit are numbered in regular sequence in heavy face or black type at one end, and are numbered in a reverse sequence, (different, however, from the first said sequence,) in outline or white type at the other end. Thusthe card numbered 1 and having say the lowest value in the black face numbering would, in the event the white face numbers were chosen to determine the play, have the highest value (18) of the suit as thus played. Obviously the reverse sequence may also be applied to ordinary playing cards, the ace and deuce being arranged on one card and so on through the series. Such arrangement is suggested in Fig. 7, where is shown one card of such a pack. These modifications are illustrated not as showing all of the variations through which the idea can be put, but as indicating that numerous.

changes in the specific arrangement may be made without departing from the idea of providing on one distinguishable end or side of the cards of a series sequential value in dications, and upon the opposite side or end of the cards other different, sequential value indications, so that, selection being made as to which arrangement shall temporarily predominate for purposes of the play of the hand, the values of the cards shall be determined thereby, and the values of some or all of the cards shall be different from what they would be were the opposite side or end selected for predominance. It will be obvious that this idea broadens considerably the possibilities of playing cards, as various sets of rules may readily be drawn which will permit some player, say the one next to the dealer, to determine which end or side of the card shall, for the purposes of the play of that hand, be the determinative of the card values, thus adding both to the chances of the game and the opportunities for the: exercise of udgment in play, as it wlll be manifest that hands which are composed of cards of low value, considered as to the s-ej rles of numbers on one end of the cards, are,

with the reverse sequence arrangement,

made up of cards of high value should the other end of the cards determine the card values for purposes of play of the band. It will be obvious that to permit of this arrangement the ends or sides of the cards, wherewith the value indications are associated, must be distinguishable, and the distinction may be made, as shown in Fig. 5, by the character of indications themselves, or the manner of printing them, or by other distinguishing characteristics. But in practice I prefer to employ as an enddistinguishing characteristic,.a distinctive shape of the card itself, which mechanically facilitates the grouping of cards, all with like ends in one direction. For this purpose, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 I shape the cards to taper toward oneend, preferably making the cards symmetrical with regard to a longitudinal axis, so that their sides incline equally toward each other, making one end of the card narrower than the other. Thus it will be obvious that no matter how the ends of the cards may be mixed during the shuffling and dealing of the hand, when the cards of a hand are stacked up together they will lie as indicated in Fig. 6, and may readily be made to all lie with like ends together by grasping the stacked cards so that the ringers of each hand of the player withdraw such cards as have their larger ends toward that hand, and the separated cards may then be laid like ends together. Furthermore I prefer, that the value indications shall be placed upon the cards by cutting out of the cards areas thereof in numher or size indicative of the values of the cards and in such relative arrangement that when a card of lower value is superposed upon a card of higher value it will obscure all of the cut away value-indicating area, or areas of the card of higher value, save so much thereof as corresponds with the cut away area or areas of said card of lower value.

In the preferred arrangement of the game I'provide a plurality'of card-suits, the cards of each suit having thereon adjacent one side or end, value indications in one sequence from 1 to at and adjacent the opposite side or ends value indications in reverse sequence of 1 to 4, and add to the plurality of suits certain anomalous cards shown in Fig. 3, each of which bears at opposite ends value indications corresponding with the highest and lowest value indications of any sequence of the suit cards.

In general I prefer the value indications to be in the form of perforations, substan tially shown in Fig. 1, and while the series of numbers at one end of the group of cards represented by the perforations, may obviously be indefinitely extended, I prefer, where increase in the number of cards in the suit is desired, to repeat the sequential arrangement, as shown in Fig. 4:.

In playing, some player, for instance the player next to the dealer, may have the election of whether the big end or the little end of the card shall be played, and upon his election each player turns his cards so that the selected like ends of all of the cards shall be upward. Now upon playing, all players having to follow suit, each trick may be taken by the person playing the highest card thereof of the suit led, the value being determined by the sequence appearing on the dominant end of the cards. The points counted for a trick may be determined by the number of apertures which remain uncovered throughout the entire number of cards played when superposed. Thus it will be seen that if four players respectively play the 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the suit led, when the cards are superposed only one aperture will be uncovered throughout the entire number of cards constituting the trick, and the trick will have the count of one, whereas if upon the play of a trick the 2, 3, and 4t of one suit are played, and the 4, say, of another suit is discarded, two apertures are left uncovered when the cards of the trick were superposed with like ends together, so that the value of said trick is two.

The arrangement which I have illustrated in Fig. 1, is particularly applicable for playing games in which the scoring may be arranged somewhat in the manner of baseball scoring, the four apertures "representing bases, and the scoring value of a trick being determined like the length of a hit, two base, one base, etc.

The anomalous cards, shown in Fig. 3, are provided With several objects in view, one of which is to prevent the discovery of the strength or weakness of the hands dealt to the several players during the process of dealing. Obviously since the value indications are cut clear through the cards in the preferred form shown, keen-eyed players may gain some idea of the strength or weakness of their opponents hands by watching the fall of the cards, but the provision of the anomalous cards, which have no tricktaking value whatever, renders ditficult an accurate estimation of the strength of an opponents hand, as from the backs they can not be distinguished from those important cards which are either highest or lowest of suit-sequences, according to the end determined for play. In playing these anomalous cards can never take tricks, but they add much to the game in play, as it will be obvious that by their skillful use in discarding a partner may be assisted in leaving open a maximum number of the value indicating apertures, or any opponent may be blocked by leaving open a single aperture,

by the party holding the proper anomalous *card.

Many variations in the particular arrangement, denominations and display of the cards may obviously be made without departing from the gist of my invention, and I do not desire, therefore, to be understood as limiting my invention to the exact arrangement shown and described, or any modification thereof, further than as set forth in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, of the United States, is:

1. A playing card pack, divided into a plurality of suits, each card having a suit characteristic covering its entire playing face, and value designations cut through the card.

2. A playing card pack consisting of cards visually distinguishable as to ends, one end of said cards being provided with suit and value indications constituting a complete display of all suits and values in the pack, and the other end of said cards being provided with indications of the same suits and values arranged in order different from the first.

3. In a playing card pack a plurality of suits of cards, each card having its opposite ends visually distinguishable, and the cards of each suit having two sets of value indications, one for each end, arranged in different sequential order, whereby the cards in the aggregate present two complete sets of value indications for each of the suits in arrangement such that the value of any hand of a plurality of cards depends upon the end selected to determine the card values for purposes of play of the hand.

4. In a playing card pack, a series of cards constituting a single suit whereof the cards bear adjacent their one edge designations of successive values in predetermined sequence, and adjacent the opposite edge designations of the same successive values in sequence the reverse of the first said sequence, said cards having their designated edges distinguishable, and each of said cards bearing a common suit indication.

5. In a playing card pack, a' series of cards whereof the opposite edges are distinguishable, the cards in said series bearing adjacent like edges indications of successive values in predetermined sequence in one suit and adjacent their opposite edges indications of successive values in the same suit, in sequence different from the first said sequence.

6. In a playing card pack, a series of cards whereof the opposite edges are distinguishable, the cards in said series hearing adjacent like edges indications of successive values in predetermined sequence in one suit, and adjacent their opposite edges indications of successive values in the same suit, in sequence substantially the reverse of the first said sequence.

7. In a playing card pack, a series of cards whereof each card has opposite ends differently shaped, the cards of the series bearing in association with one end designations of successive values in predetermined sequence, and in association with the oppo site, differently shaped end, designations of successive values in a sequence different from the first said sequence.

8. In a playing card pack, a series of cards whereof each card has opposite ends differently shaped, the cards of the series bearing in association with one end designations of successive values in predetermined sequence, and in association with the opposite, differently shaped end, designations of successive values in a sequence substantially the reverse from the first said sequence.

9. In a playing card pack, a series of cards of similar shape, tapering in one direction, value indications associated with the narrower portions of the cards, and indica tions of other values associated with the wider portions of the cards.

10. In a playing card pack, a series of e cards of similar shape, tapering in one direction, value indications associated with the narrower portions of the cards arranged in predetermined sequence, and value indications associated with the wide portion of the cards, arranged in a sequence substantially the reverse from the first said sequence.

11. A playing card having a value indication out t-herethrough.

12. In a playing card pack, a series of cards having difi'erent value designations out through the cards, and such value designations being so relatively displayed on the different cards that when a card of higher value is superposed upon a card'of lower value the entire value indication of the card of lower value is displayed in register with port-ions of the value indication of the card of higher value.

13. In a playing card pack, cards having their ends of relatively different shapes for ready arrangement of cards with like ends together, and bearing in association with the differently shaped ends indications of ditl'erent capabilities for play.

14. A playing card pack, comprising a plurality of suits whereof the cards of each suit have cut therethrough in association with one end indications of value in predetermined sequence, and have out therethrough in association with another end indications of successive value in another sequence, and a plurality of cards distinguishable from said suit cards, having out therethrough in association with opposite edges, value indications corresponding with the value indications of the highest and lowest cards of any suit substantially as described.

15. In a playing card pack, a group of cards constituting a single suit, all presenting a common general suit characteristic, said group being divided into two subdivisions, each of the cards of each subdivisio-n presenting a division characteristic peculiar to such subdivision, the cards of each subdivision bearing sequential value inclications cut clear through the cards.

In testimony whereof I hereunto setmy hand in the presence of two witnesses.

GEO. T. MAY, Jr., MARY F. ALLEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

